COEUR d'ALENE - On the sidelines of many soccer matches this weekend in Coeur d'Alene and Hayden, Mike Thompson has been standing, hands clasped behind his back, encouraging and guiding young strikers, midfielders and goalkeepers.

When needed, he coaches patiently, one-on-one.

"I believe in you, you've got to believe in yourself," he often says.

He coaches with authority, too, finding the right tone. He commands players who are sprinting on the field, and he rallies groups of players between breaks in play and at the beginning and end of play.

"The first game is always the most difficult," Thompson told a boys under-13 Coeur d'Alene Sting team on Friday after a match against rival and Post Falls-based Idaho Thunder, winning 2-0.

The team was a bit nervous to start the Bill Eisenwinter Hot Shot youth soccer tournament, but found a way to get an early win.

"Now, we won the game, and I'm happy," Thompson said at Canfield Sport Complex, with his team gathered around. "Are you guys happy? Do we know we can play better? Do you believe in yourselves?"

Yes, like his teams, he believes they can always play better. And, yes, he always believes in them.

Thompson, 34, of Liberty Lake, is director of coaching for the Coeur d'Alene Sting Soccer Club, a position he took on nearly a year ago. Much of his role is player development, evaluating coaches and coaching teams. He coaches U13 and U15 boys teams. It's his full-time job.

"I love the game," he said. "I have been playing the game since age 5."

Coaching gives him a way to be around the sport.

"I just enjoy coaching the game, teaching the game," including sportsmanship, fundamentals and strategy, Thompson said.

"He's got connections like you wouldn't believe, being at Gonzaga (University) for roughly 16 years," said Sting President Rob Rollins. "He's got a passion for the kids, and a passion for the sport."

Having watched Thompson's coaching style, Rollins said, "He's not a screamer or a yeller, and he's not sitting there just reserved. He's a teaching and calm coach."

He hires great coaches, too, he said.

"We are a very fortunate club to have him," Rollins said. "He could stay at the college level coaching, but he chose to come back here."

Thompson relates to the players.

"They're exactly what I was," Thompson said.

Soccer in North Idaho when he was starting out was in the dark ages compared with where it's at today, with the Sting club hosting a tournament with 183 teams, he said.

In 1983, Thompson and his family moved to Coeur d'Alene from Corvallis, Ore.

The Thompson family put an ad in the newspaper, hoping to find enough interested kids to start a single soccer team.

About 35 players' families responded, providing enough to start three teams.

He and his brother, Ken Thompson, who is two years older, would be among the players. Mike Thompson was a Sting player from 1985 through 1996.

About six months later, in 1984, the Thompson family and Irma Anderl combined their efforts. That collaboration created the Coeur d'Alene Sting club in 1985.

"Here were are, X amount of years later, with 360 kids and 25 teams in the Coeur d'Alene area," Thompson said.

"Soccer is a great teacher of life, responsibility and accountability," he said.

While shaping the character of young players, the club also has produced a lot of great players.

Since 1994, 180 kids have gone on to play some level of college soccer from the Sting club.

"We have the best coaching staff in the area, with coaches who are experienced playing and coaching in college," he said. "We're doing things as a club to get better every day."

Thompson played four seasons for Gonzaga University from 1996 through 1999.

He helped Gonzaga to back-to-back West Coast Conference co-titles in 1997 and 1998. He was one of the top assist men in the WCC, setting both the single-season and career record for assists at Gonzaga. He still ranks fourth in career assists with 16 and tied for first in single-season assists with eight. His 18 career goals still ranks sixth.

In 1998, he earned first-team All-West Coast Conference honors and wrapped up his playing career in 1999 with an honorable mention All-WCC selection.

He played three seasons with the Spokane Shadow of the U.S. Premier Developmental League.

He spent 10 years as a member of Gonzaga's coaching staff.

He was on the coaching staff for the Idaho State Olympic development program from 2003 through 2006.

Soccer is part of Thompson's family life, too.

He married former Gonzaga women's soccer player Molly Bales in April 2004. They had a son, Caden, in 2005, and a daughter, Natalie Paige, in 2007.

"Coeur d'Alene is where I grew up, and this is where my wife and I love to be," he said. "We are a soccer family."